One way to quickly evaluate the information in front of you is to consider the "3 C's":
Credibility (their expertise makes your paper more authoritative)
- Who is the author? (okay to "Google" them)
- What makes them an expert on this subject?
- Is the author's intention to educate (share knowledge) or persuade?
Content
- Is it good enough for college-level research? Or is it too basic? Too "scholarly" (assume a level of understanding beyond your grasp)?
- Does it provide you with new knowledge?
- Does it support or challenge what you already know about the subject?
Currency
- Is it current enough for your research needs? Or could you likely find something more recent?
- Does it provide you with an accurate snapshot of the time? Fill in blanks of recent events? Provide a history or synthesis of relevant information?
- Remember, currency is relative:
- Newspapers = published every day or weekly
- Magazines = published weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly
- Scholarly Journals = published quarterly (on average)
- Books = take a year or more to write, publish, and distribute
- Statistics = often take a year or more to collect, analyze, publish, and distribute